ANTELOPE, California — Moses Smith, the driver of the No. 16 Hasa Pool Products Toyota Camry, begins his third season in the NASCAR Camping World Series West. The Bill McAnally Racing driver finished sixth in the chase for the series championship last season and is looking for his first series win. The first race of the season will be the “AllState Texas Thunder 150” in Kyle, Texas on March 14th.
"This 3/8th mile track is challenging with no wall on the back straight away, so it always makes for good racing."
“This year is going to be awesome,” said Smith. A recent addition to the No. 16 Hasa team is veteran crew chief Mario Isola. He was the crew chief of the No. 20 BMR entry beginning in 2003 working with drivers Jim Inglebright, Clint Bowyer, Kerry Earnhardt and IRL driver Sarah Fisher. His accomplishments include a NASCAR West Series championship in 2007.
“I am really looking forward to our first official race of the season,” continued Smith. “This 3/8th mile track is challenging with no wall on the back straight away, so it always makes for good racing.” At Smith and the Hasa team’s last visit to Thunderhill Raceway, Smith was third quick in second practice and qualified the No. 16 HASA Pool Products Toyota on the outside of row four to start the 150-lap race. He ran solidly in the middle of the pack thru six cautions when at lap 124, he and a competitor made contact after battling for position for several laps. A great driving effort by Smith kept the No. 16 HASA Pool Products Toyota on the pavement, but not without damage to the front of the car. On the white-flag lap, the damaged oil cooler let go, coating his tires with oil, making the No. 16 Toyota virtually impossible to drive. Moses briefly went off-track after he spun in the oil and was struck by a competitor. He quickly regained control finishing the race in sixteenth and on the lead lap. Smith left the 2008 AllState Texas Thunder third in the chase for the championship.
The Hasa Toyota team will take the green flag in the “AllState Texas Thunder 150” at Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas on March 14th. The 150-lap event will feature a 26-car field under the lights with the main event beginning at 8:45 pm. For ticket information, please visit www.TexasThunder200.com.
BMR would like to thank the continued support of our race partners. For more information on Bill McAnally Racing and our race partners, please visit our website at www.billmcanallyracing.com. For more information on Moses Smith, please visit www.mosessmith.com. You can visit our sponsors’ websites at www.hasapool.com , www.whiteflyer.com, and www.tcitransportation.com .
